Well, bless their heartsState’s southern accent voted most attractive in country

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

When it comes to meeting that special someone, many factors come together to make that perfect match. Physical attraction, common interests and a shared sense of humor are all regularly cited as important qualities in the perfect mate, but what about an attractive accent?

Your date’s accent may not seem like a vital detail – especially when meeting someone online - but your subconscious reaction when they speak could make or break a relationship.

With a continent as large and diverse as North America, it’s not surprising that accents are many and varied. From the lilting twang of the South, to the short and snappy speech of New Yorkers, the way North Americans speak is as much a melting pot of different styles and influences as the food and music.

The vast variety means that here in North America there really is something for everyone. But with choice comes preference, and although you may not think about it often, everyone has their own vocal likes and dislikes.

But which accents make us weak at the knees, and which are a turn off?

Well thanks to a recent survey of over 2,000 men and women by dating site Cupid.com we finally have the answer. The Southern accent, as spoken by the good people of the Palmetto State, was voted in first place as the most attractive of all.

(Rank, total and male/female split)

1st Southern – 36.5 percent (45/28)

2nd New York –16.5 percent (10/23)

3rd Western – 13 percent (16/10)

4th New England – 10.5 percent (8/13)

5th New Jersey –7 percent (4/10)

6th Canadian –7 percent (3/11)

7th Midwestern – 5.5 percent (8/3)

8th Mid-Atlantic – 4 percent (5/3)

So what is it that makes the Southern accent so appealing to members of the opposite sex? When it comes to romance, most of us dream of long lazy days in the sun, epic sunsets and, ahem, rolls in the hay. It’s therefore no surprise that in at number one is the sweet sound of the South.

The distinctive sound of the Southern drawl is infamous the world over, but who knew its sing-song tones were secretly such a turn on? Interestingly the Southern accent proved a particular hit with the men who were surveyed. We’re not sure if they’re after a Scarlett O’Hara or a Daisy Duke, but either way it’s great news for all you single southern belles.

Observations

New York

New Yorkers short, sharp talk may sometimes come across as harsh, but that didn’t stop it from landing second place as most attractive accent in North America.

You may have

thought that their directness would scare prospective lovers off, but it seems that’s far from the case.

In fact New York’s fast and straight talking is actually very popular – especially among those women surveyed.

Bachelors of New York – make yourselves known.

West

With notable exceptions like the laid-back sounds of California’s surfer dudes, the West is home to North America’s least distinctive and most generic accents. However, far from

being a downfall it seems to be serving Westerners well, as they bagged third place in

Cupid.com’s survey. So the Western states are a potential hotbed of love and romance.

New England

Ah, the Boston accent; one of the most characteristic in the USA. Yes, they may have

something funny going on with the letter “R,” but that didn’t stop New England ranking fourth as the most attractive accent in North America according to this survey.

New England scored particularly highly with females; we wonder if that has anything to do with Boston’s famous sons Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg and Ben Affleck?

New Jersey

We wouldn’t want to be the ones to have to break it to Tony Soprano, but it seems his

native New Jersey accent isn’t a winner when it comes to love. Yes, Tony may have had more romantic conquests than we’ve had hot meals, but his hard-hitting New Jersey accent only reached fifth place in our Cupid.com survey. Tony may have found some solace in the fact that once again it was women who reacted most positively to New Jersey’s harsh tones. It seems that when it comes to love, daters are looking for partners who conform to the gender stereotypes of softly-spoken women and tough-talking men.

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